Park looks at the past to get ready

Jacob Park, by his own estimation, thinks he watched more film over the last sixth months than the Iowa State football coaching staff.

The extensive film study, he hopes, will prepare him to take full control of the Cyclones offense, which he began learning late last summer.

“I got comfortable, I got used to it,” Park said at ISU’s media day Thursday. “The game’s slowed down for me, It’s a lot more fun, it’s like high school again.”

He even hopes to call some plays on his own.

Park arrived late last summer and missed part of fall practice with an illness. With close to a calendar year in the program and after splitting time with then-quarterback and current linebacker Joel Lanning last season, Park is now the unquestioned starting quarterback and expectations are high for the redshirt junior after a strong sophomore campaign.

Park debuted in an ISU uniform against Iowa at Kinnick Stadium. He appeared in 10 games total and started three.

Park and Lanning split time at QB last season, but Park won the job outright after completing 133 of 226 pass attempts for 1791 yards. He threw 12 touchdowns against five interceptions.

His best game in terms of yardage came in ISU’s finale against West Virginia, a 49-19 loss in which he went 23-of-44 and threw for 371 yards and an interception.

Park left spring practice as ISU’s starter, and has not taken the role lightly.

“I know he’s definitely gotten a lot better from when he first got here. He came into the season last year not knowing much because it was his first year, he was fairly new to the program, just starting to learn the offense,” Lanning said of Park. “Now that he’s been here for a whole year, he’s got the offense down like the back of his hand.”

With Lanning now on the other side of the ball, the two square off in practice during seven-on-seven drills. Park usually wins, though Lanning said he almost picked off Park earlier in the week.

Park hasn’t thrown an interception in camp to Lanning’s knowledge, and Lanning too has noticed the game slow down for Park.

“He’s not really thinking anymore, he’s starting to play, quick throws, getting out where he’s supposed to do,” Lanning said. “He’s just grown as a player, you can definitely see the difference between him (from last year to this year).”

Park likely has more room to progress, too.

He’s been in the program longer, but he also has a stable of tall and physical receivers in Allen Lazard, Hakeem Butler, Marchie Murdock and Matt Eaton, a talented running back duo in David Montgomery and Mike Warren and a collection of fast slot receivers, including Deshaunte Jones, who caught 37 passes for 536 yards and six touchdowns last season.

“Our job as receivers is to make him look good, what kind of ball he throws or who he decides to throw the ball to, if he makes any mistakes then we have to correct it,” said Lazard, who totaled 1,018 yards as ISU’s leading receiver last season.

Park has a strong arm and, with big receivers on the outside, will be able to use it.

Park’s arm strength hasn’t gone unnoticed by his receivers.

“Especially those deep balls, those are the ones that we like to run as receivers, the ones that can lead to touchdowns and make big plays happen,” Lazard said.

And while Park can make those plays happen with his arm, the Cyclones still have questions on the offensive line, and Park is only one of the 22 players on the field.

The flashes were there last season, however, and the Cyclones and coach Matt Campbell are high on what Park can do now a full year into the program.

“We’ve seen some of his high moments – some of those moments when he’s played really good football. When we’ve watched that, we’ve seen a guy that has the ability at this level – in a Power Five Conference, in the Big 12 Conference – to play at a really high rate,” Campbell said.

“We already know what playing his best looks like. Now it’s matter of taking those last six months and smoothing out those rough edges and really giving him the confidence of here’s our offensive playbook, here’s what our expectations of you are.”

Campbell said Park is among the best quarterbacks the former has coached and can do all the things the Cyclones will ask of him this season with the possibility of having a great career with the Cyclones.

Park is now fully in control of the offense and with talk of a bowl game swelling around Jack Trice Stadium, believes he can only keep improving.

“Once you learn enough, like where I’m at now,” Park said, “it becomes, ‘can I come out here and be perfect?’ Not can ‘I come out here and be good?’”

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